


Surveillance

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: First Times, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 04:03:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/793774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim keeps a<br/>constant surveillance on Blair and Blair doesn't much like it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surveillance

**Author's Note:**

> Thankyou Kelly for betta - ing this, and for doing Sugar Oh as well, (forgot to mention that.) 

## Surveillance

by Fire Frog

Author's webpage: <http://wn.com.au/firefrog>

Disclaimer: The Sentinel is the property of Pet Fly and UPN. All rights reserved. No infringement of copyright intended. No money changed hands. 

* * *

"Can you see what's in his mind?" 

"Oh, yeah - awesome. Not at all like with Naomi. He's remembering something. Playing with some chick's hair - doing it in a ponytail or something. Wow, the emotions are coming right through. He realy digs her. He's turned the dial right up." 

"What?" 

"Touch, he's feeling her hair, running his hand down her neck, along her shoulders. He's feeling, I don't know - smug - like he's accomplished something. He really digs the feel of her skin; he feels it as he glides his hand over her shirt, releasing her scent. Man, is he into it. I can't believe he's kept this from me. He's practically zoning on her." 

"Zoning? Like, aroused?" 

"He's slid his hand to her bicep....<that's strange>....giving it a slight squeeze. Whoah! Intense! He found _that_ arousing. Why hasn't he told me about this woman? Damn - the connections drifted, going primal or something. I don't think I should go there, not without Jim's consent." 

"Which he'll give you if you ask. Blair, you've got that guy wrapped around your little finger." 

"You just have to know which buttons to push." 

"And you know them all." 

"I thought I did. But this woman, why hasn't Jim told me about her? We don't normally keep secrets like that." 

"What she look like?" 

"I'm not sure - only saw her from the back. She was shorter than him, mid length curly brown/black hair, wearing a flannel shir..." 

"..." 

"..." 

"He could have been..." 

"NO!...I mean, no. He wouldn't...I don't.. He wouldn't!" 

"Blair! Where are you going?" 

"To have a talk with Jim Ellison. I'll contact you tomorrow about when we'll meet next week. I gotta go now." 

<Slam>

"Oh, fuck." 

* * *

Jim smiled to himself - he could hear Blair approaching, and he was pissed at something. Whatever or whoever it was had better run, when Blair gets mad it's duck and cover time. 

<Rattle, rattle - jangle - clang - (curse) - click - SLAM!>

"I'd have gotten the door for you Sandburg - you only had to.." 

"Don't you, EVER, do that to me again!" 

"Wha.." 

"I am not some giant sensory sex toy here Jim. I'm a human being! You will not touch, caress or brush up against any part of my person without my express permission. Or so help me, I will be out that door." 

"NO!" Even with the thrum of anger in his head, Blair recognized the anguish in the denial, but damn it - he wasn't going to be used that way. 

"Yes!" he hissed, determined blue eyes glaring into those of his partner. "I know you need me man, but you do shit like that again and I am outta here." 

"How did you..." 

"Maybe someday Jim, when I trust you again, I'll tell you. Till then, just keep off me." And Blair whirled into his room, leaving a visible heat signature in the air behind him. 

/Oh god. What am I going to do?/ White faced the big detective stared at the door to his friend's room and trembled. Finally, when the shadows had lengthened, he pulled himself together and began to make their dinner. 

* * *

Jim called Blair when the meal was ready and they sat in silence while they ate. Eventually the taller man spoke. With an awkward clearing of the throat he pushed away his plate and looked his partner in the eyes. 

"It's not going to be that easy Chief." 

"Sure it is. I say - stop it - and you stop. Easy." Blair grabbed a roll and began attacking it with a butter knife. 

"Not easy." <sigh> "Sandburg - I do it all the time. Touching you is how I ground myself." 

Blair sat quietly awhile, mangled roll forgotten in his hand. 

"No Jim, that's not what you were doing. You were abusing me. Like someone who abuses animals or little children, because they don't know what's being done to them is wrong, and can't protest it. I didn't know Jim. I didn't give consent. You took something without permission and I don't know if I can forgive you that." 

"I'm not.. I'm _not_ disagreeing with you Blair." The anthro student allowed himself to acknowledge the guilt in his friends eyes, "I just didn't .... I thought you'd never know...a harmless fantasy" He brought his hands together in an oddly begging way. "But I promise you, I will stop now. I won't harass you. Or think of you in that way. I'm just saying...it may take some time." 

"I don't want this to end our friendship man. You want me, that's OK. I can live with it if you can. But I want you to be honest about it with me. OK?" 

"Yeah,...yeah. OK. Just..don't leave. Deal?" 

"Deal. Lets get these plates dealt with now. Who's turn to dry?" 

Things went almost back to normal as they completed the daily chore. Except that Jim scrupulously stayed out of Blair's personal space. No touching, patting or general horseplay went on. 

And after having his shower, Blair was surprised to find no Jim champing at the bit to get in. Which was weird, because Jim always tried to get in to take advantage of the 'warm steam' after Blair...uh,oh...well, at least it showed the man was keeping his word. An image of Jim, aroused and caressing the wall where Blair had just leant to dry his toes flashed into his mind. What else did the Sentinel do? Perhaps it was best that he didn't know. 

What followed was like some horrible dream. It started the next day when Blair was scoffing up scrambled eggs and reading a report on a new storage system at Rainier. Jim softly asked him to finish doing up his shirt. Looking down at his exposed chest, Blair had somehow known Jim had been using his senses to stare at his partially exposed nipples. (/ _That's_ how he knew about the nipple ring/) Had been looking, was still. Not saying anything Blair did up his shirt, ate his eggs and left for work. In total silence. 

So it continued, the number of small, unnoticed intrusions scaring the younger man. Jim now put head phones on almost the entire time they were home, driving in the point that Sandburg had had no privacy since the day he moved in here. Pressed, he almost broke and ran. 

At the bullpen inquiries where made into their welfare, and questions asked as to why they were fighting. 

Jim zoned repeatedly. Unsure if this was a ploy to initiate contact, Blair's conscience was torn. He became unsure of his own reactions, was he being paranoid? Was Jim really so underhanded as to use his need for the guide as a rouse? Still, Blair couldn't help worrying about his friend. Zone-outs were never a trivial thing, they genuinely put the other man in danger. What was triggering the increase? Was the need to touch Blair so essential? 

The detective had developed a habit of stuffing his hands into his pockets and, when Blair was making some point or explaining a theory, sitting on them as well. He gave his partner a wide birth, walking practically on the other side of the room, and never touching him. 

Once Blairs hair unwound itself from its tieback to hang in ringlets about his face. He had looked up to find Jim eyeing them with something close to need. Blair had just stood up, gone to the men's room, taken out his comb and savagely slicked back his hair. 

Jim grew quieter, more withdrawn, Blair got edgier. Neither of them talked about it. 

Near week's end Blair was happy to collapse onto the lounge and veg out with his favorite Anthropology magazine. He was about half way through, when he sighed, took off his glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. 

"Jim, stop it." 

Ellison moved out of the shadows of the kitchen to silently stand before his wearied friend. 

"I can't help it." 

"Yes you can!" Blair gestured emphatically, glaring up at him. "Jim, you can do this. You've _got_ to do this. You think you _need_ to see me, touch me? That's bullshit man, if it's true I've become a crutch, one you need to cut loose. Stop this now, because I'm warning you Jim, I can't take much more." Eyes shimmering, he slammed down his magazine and stormed off to his room. 

Jim stood, willing himself not to listen in on his partner, not to invade his privacy, again. The realization of just how closely he monitored his friend, how often he _did_ invade the younger man's privacy had appalled him. Jim was such a private man himself. To think his 'monitoring Blair for his own safety' had turned into some kind of 'stalking' horrified the cop. He had thrown up a barrier, but it had been nearly a week, and his defenses had begun to crumble. 

With shaking hands he picked up the magazine Blair had dropped and carried it up the staircase. Cradling it gently he inhaled the faint traces of 'Blair' and soaked up the tiny remaining heat signature on the pages. Collapsing on the bed, clutching the magazine like a lifeline, silent tears began to trickle down his face as he hugged the minute traces of his friend to himself. /You're wrong Blair. This isn't about need. Or want. Or friendship. It's about love. I love you, kid. And I'm going to lose you./ 

* * *

Blair was wound tighter than a drum. He had to make a decision, preferably before things got out of hand. It was time to test Jim's resolve. He arranged things with Sevron, feeling guilty about using the man this way, but afraid not to. 

Sevron had been the one to approach him, almost a month ago now. The young man was searching for his sister, Lessa, and using a unique family gift to do it with. He could 'astral' travel the Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) that was Cascades joint aura. But in order to do so he needed a 'base', someone who's unique aura he could use to anchor himself to. 

That was where Blair came in. Jack Kelso had put them in contact, Sevron having worked closely with many Government bodies. He had been away doing just that when his twelve year old sister had had rebelled and fled their home. Sevron somehow felt responsible, and had immediately gone to track her down. 

There were several 'bases' that Sevron used, it had been found that using just one caused that person to start to resonate to Servons aura, resulting in pain and lose of identity. (Sevron had not looked at Blair when he explained this part, but the pain he felt over the unknown researcher used to discover this was palpable.) They rotated daily, today was Blair's day. 

The anthro student was very clear in the EMF, Sevron had had no trouble two weeks ago helping the grad student surf the astral to visit his mother in a neighboring town. Their tie had been strong, a piece of cake to follow, and their happy renewal of familial ties had gladdened Sevron, starved for his sister's link, the comfortable feel of her in his mind. He had been amazed at the clarity of Naomi's aura, amused at how alike/dissimilar she was to her son. 

Today Blair had asked to visit his friend Jim Ellison again. Sevron had been intimidated by the big cop when they had met face to face, after Blair enlisted the police officer's departmental help in tracking Lessa. How had Blair, the open and friendly young grad student, wound up living with this up tight authoritarian? The answer, to a certain extent, had been revealed when they visited him astrally the next week. 

Resonance like that between non family members was rare. Jim's fantasy revelations had not surprised Sevron, although it had clearly knocked Blair for a loop. Jim was another strongly defined aura, although oddly shadowed and frissioned.. As Sevron looked at it again today, after another fruitless search for Lessa, he could see that it was destabilizing before his eyes. Gently letting Blairs consciousness flow from his magnetic 'hands' into Jim, he prayed that this was the right thing to do. For Blair, perspective changed from form/colour to solid block emotion. 

* * *

Strung out, Jim was pacing the loft prior to going on a late afternoon stakeout. True to his promise, he was trying not to think of his partner. As usual, this was proving difficult. 

/I'm stationed two doors down from a Deli, must drop in and get some of that goats cheese Blair likes, ... put it on _his_ side of the fridge, that stuff stinks...Must tell him that joke Brown made at lunchtime...I wonder where the kid is now... he wore that blue shirt today. God, that makes him look...Must stop doing this. Damn, the look in his eyes the other day...I've gotta get control...ah, to hell with this/ He turned and strode to the door, /may as well go do something useful with my time./ 

As he reached into the basket for the trucks keys a photo fell out. Glancing idly at it Jim froze, eyes glued to the grainy image. Two male westerners stood amidst a group of islanders. The older, larger man, a bear of a guy with a bushy gray beard and grandfather spectacles, wore a large leaf hat, a rope belt and a huge horn like object over his genitals. The other, much younger man, was holding what looked like a Dictaphone, and was wearing a rope belt and nothing else. 

This was it. Blair tensed. What was Jim's reaction to a naked 'him' going to be? 

Reaching out Jim touched the beloved face in the picture. He looked so young and carefree. Nothing like the tense grad student that had been sitting on his couch glaring at him with angry and confused eyes. All the strength seemed to leach out of him and the big cop crumpled to the floor, photo clutched in one trembling hand. 

/Oh god, Chief. What have I done? I've hurt you so badly. I'm going to lose you...I never did deserve you in the first place. Couldn't believe when you wanted to, _insisted_ , on helping me. Ah, god...Blair./ A high keening noise began to sound, a hopeless/desolate wail to accompany the salty tears on their journey down Jim Ellison's face. 

Elsewhere a curly headed Anthropologist was busy breaking road rules in a mad dash to get home to his Sentinel. 

* * *

"Jim?..Jim, come back to me. Jim, I need you here, help me out man." The sound of his guide's voice brought Detective Ellison out of his grief driven zone out. Blair was kneeling next to him; arms around his shoulders, rocking him gently like a lost child. Here was Blair, comforting him again, giving of himself again, with a loyalty that he had been abusing. No more. 

"Blair, I'm sorry, I can't...I can't do it." Jim curled into himself, then straightened. "I'll help you find a new place, somewhere near campus..." 

"Don't you dare man." Blair's voice was gruff and Jim realized he had been - crying? "Listen to me. I've been thinking and I've figured out why I went off at you like that. Why you made me so angry. Jim, do you love me?" 

The man in his arms was silent a moment, then he sighed and nodded his head. "I love you alright, Sandburg. No use denying it now. You're my soul, my light." Eyes firmly fixed on the ground, Jim gasped when Blair tenderly kissed his ear. 

"Jim, I'm sorry. I've been such an idiot. I thought this was about sex man. The beast with two backs, four legs and two silly grins." He gave his partner a playful squeeze. Jim gapped at him, eyes wide and stunned. "Just sex. And that pissed me off. I've loved you - for years now. I guess I wanted to see that in you, when I got Sevron to peek into your thoughts. Instead, all I saw was the obsessive behavior, the touches, and the looks. All pretty much par for the course with a repressed romantic like you in love. But I missed it. Totally failed to see the love in you. And I need to see it, Jim. I want it too. We can do this, we belong together." 

Jim looked up at him, the tide of emotion stealing away his ability to speak. Rolling its eyes the cop part of his brain realized Blair needed to hear a response, was on tenderhooks, in fact, waiting for his reply. Shoving the romantic fool part of him aside, he lay a hand alongside the face of his beloved. 

"That was a damn fine speech, Darwin. But I'm a throw back to pre history man, remember? I don't think I'll get it till you've laid a wet one on me." And he puckered up, shaking inside, but still needing Blair to make the next move. While the romantic fool gibbered in horrified outrage Blair laughed huskily and bent his head to kiss his Sentinel. 

* * *

A while later Blair woke up on the couch - Jim Ellison spooned up behind him - arms wrapped around him - hands embarrassingly tucked down the front of Blairs jeans, cradling his spent cock. Their kiss had naturally deepend and led to Jim kissing his way hungrily down Blair's body, to culminate in the blow job of Blairs life. Just the memory of his view of Jim's face, cheeks hollowed as he sucked his young lover in, was enough to make him twitch. When had they ended up on the couch? Pre or post blow? Fighting a sudden desire to giggle maniacally, Blair felt Jim stir awake and begin nibbling on his ear. 

"Thanks Jim. That was...intense." 

Remembering Blair's fears that this was only about sex Jim reluctantly slid his hands from their warm resting-place and cuddled his guide to him. "I aim to please Chief." He stroked the soft fabric of his friends shirt in soothing circles then, "Want to come on a stakeout with me? I'm a little late - but the tip off isn't a sure thing and I think we need to talk." 

"Sure." Blair smiled, struggling up with his partner and straightening his clothes. Jim went to pick up the photo from the floor and carefully replaced it in the basket, grabbing out the keys. 

"Lover, how did you know?" The question seemed to hang in the air between them, until Blair smiled and held out his leather tieback. 

"Put my hair up for me and I'll tell you all about it. See, there's this guy called Sevron, you met him last month, he's looking for his sister...." 

End 


End file.
